In addressing this misconception, it is interesting to
note that no other religious scripture claims to totally be the direct word of
Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ as clearly and as often as the
Glorious Quran. Almighty Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ Says:
أَفَلَا
يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟
فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًا كَثِيرًا
So do they not ponder about the
Quran? And had it been form anyone beside Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ), They would certainly find much
contradiction in it. [Nisa 4:82]
At the time the Glorious Quran was
revealed, the Arabs recognized that the language of the Holy Quran was unique
and distinctly different form the language spoken by Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم and
his people. This, in spite of the fact that the Arabs of that time were known
for their skills in poetry and mastery of the Arabic language.
Moreover, the Beloved Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم was
known to be an unlettered man (meaning, that he was not schooled according to
the known education system which existed in Arabia at that time, but indeed he صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم is taught
by Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ the Most Wise. The Holy Quran
states in Chapter 4, verse 113 “And Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has taught you what you did not know”).
If he went to
learn from anyone, certainly his contemporaries would have protested and
exposed him. However, there are no reports of this. Without doubt there were
people who rejected Prophet Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم
message, just like the message of other Prophets were rejected, but none denied
it for the above mentioned reason.
It is also interesting to note that even though the
Majestic Quran is not poetry, the Arabs were much less inclined to poetry after
it was revealed. It can be said that the magnificent Quran is the piece of
Arabic literature par excellence – and Prophet Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم
enemies, realized that as much as they tried they could not outdo or even equal
it.
Some Christian critics of Islam claim that Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم was
not himself the author of the Holy Quran but that he learned and copied
(plagiarism) or adapted it from Jewish and Christian scriptures. In reality,
however, Prophet Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم contact with
the Jewish and Christian scholars was extremely limited. Historical records
available show that he made only three trips outside Makkah before announcing
his Prophethood: At the tender age of nine he accompanied his Blessed mother,
Lady Amina رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْھَا to Madinah. Before the
age of twelve, he accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on a business trip to Syria.
And before his marriage, at the age of 25, he led the honorable Lady Khadijah’s
رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْھَا
caravan to Syria.
The most prominent Christian known to him was an old
blind man named Waraqah Bin Nawafl, who was a relative of his honorable wife,
Lady Khadijah رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْھَا. He was a
convert to Christianity and well-versed in the gospels. The Beloved Prophet
Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم only met him
twice; the first time was briefly before his Prophetic mission and the second
occasion was when the Beloved Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم went to meet Waraqah after
receiving the first revelation form almighty Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ. Waraqah رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَنْہُ accepted Islam and was in fact
the first Christian scholar to enter into the fold of Islam; he passed away
three years later. The revelation of the Glorious Quran, however, continued for
23 years.
Some of Prophet Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم pagan
opponents accused him of learning the majestic Quran from a Roman blacksmith, a
Christian who was staying on the outskirts of Makkah. A revelation of the Grand
Quran was sufficient to refute this charge. Allah Almighty عَزَّوَجَلَّ said:
وَلَقَدْ
نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٌ ۗ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِى
يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّ وَهَـٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّ مُّبِينٌ
And indeed We
know that they say, “This Quran is being taught by some other man”; the one
they refer to speaks a foreign language, whereas this is clear Arabic! [Nahl
16:103]
Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم enemies kept a close watch on
him, with the hope of uncovering a shred of evidence to support their claim
that he was a liar. But they could not point to a single instance when the
Beloved Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم
might have had a secret meeting with any particular Jew or Christian.
It is true that the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم did have
religious discussions with Jews and Christians, but they took place openly in
Madinah, and the revelation of the Glorious Quran had been going on for more
than 13 years before that. The allegation that these Jews and Christians were
its source is groundless, especially since the role of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم was of a
teacher; he openly invited them to embrace Islam, pointing out how they had
deviated from Exalted Allah’s عَزَّوَجَلَّ true teachings of monotheism. Numerous Jews and
Christians embraced Islam themselves upon hearing Prophet Muhammad’s صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم message.
In addition, it was known that Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم was unlettered
(not taught in any worldly system but taught by Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ, the All-Knowing). In His divine
wisdom, Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ the Most Wise, chose His final messenger to be an unlettered
man (In reality most lettered, taught by Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ) so no one would have the slightest
justification to doubt him or accuse him of writing or copying the Holy Quran.
Moreover, there was no Arabic version of the Bible in existence at the time of
the Beloved Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم.
It is true that there are some similarities between
the majestic Quran and the Bible, but this is not sufficient grounds to accuse
the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہِ وَسَلَّم of
compiling or copying from the Bible. The similarities between the two do not
indicate the later Prophets copied from previous ones, but merely point to common
source, who is the one true God, and to the continuation of the basic message
of Tawheed (monotheism).
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